Updated 9:48 pm, Friday, January 11, 2013

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Law enforcement officials will join families and activists Saturday to draw attention to gun violence outside an arms show at the Saratoga Springs City Center.

Albany County District Attorney David Soares and Saratoga Springs Public Safety Commissioner Chris Mathiesen are among those expected to discuss solutions to gun violence at a "speak out" organized by MoveOn.org members. The event will cap a day of scheduled protests along Broadway.

Starting at 10 a.m. outside the city center, members of Saratogians Against Gun Violence, led by Charlie Samuels, plan to hold cut-out angels and read the names of Americans who have died from gunshot wounds in the last month. Members of the Saratoga Peace Alliance will hold a one-hour vigil starting at 1:15 p.m., while the MoveOn event begins at 2:15 p.m.

"This time and place were chosen by MoveOn organizers and allies because of the presence of the annual gun show at the City Center, to highlight what has become perhaps the No. 1 public health problem in our nation," a statement by the group says.

This weekend's NEACA Arms Fair has sparked a cultural divide in the city. Hundreds of petitioners have objected to holding the gun show after the Newtown, Conn., school killings in December, and many want the city center to stop hosting them. Hundreds of others have signed a separate petition calling on the city center to stick by the gun show. The center's board said this week the show would be held.

But those who want the show canceled haven't gone away, and recently joined ranks with top law enforcement authorities. Both Soares and Mathiesen confirmed they planned to attend Saturday's speak out.